“This Apocalypse Awakens content will challenge even the most seasoned Marvel Heroes Omega players with heroes at level 11 or higher. Alone or in teams of as many as five heroes, players will confront En Sabah Nur’s forces in his Egyptian resurrection chamber. The new content will also feature all-new original Horsemen designs that unlock for Jean Grey, Storm, Psylocke and Magik. […] This new event not only allows players to fight against Horsemen versions of Jean Grey, Storm, Psylocke and Magik, it also allows players to unlock these versions as part of the new Apocalypse Loot Box or as a part of the Age of Apocalypse Event Omega Pack, both only available for a limited time. These four heroes will join Spider-Man as Omega Prestige characters, increasing their combat potential. Apocalypse Awakens introduces Omega items that can be earned through the new Omega difficulty setting, which can be achieved by passing the Omega Trial.”

Lots of big stuff is happening today for Kritika Online. First of all, the game’s servers are going down at 9:30 a.m. EDT to apply the game’s next major patch, Fractured Memories. That’s a big thing right there. Then, at 11:00 a.m. EDT, the game will be available on Steam. And at the same time, the game’s launch on Steam means that the game will have fully launched, no more open beta tag. So that’s three big things all happening today.

Forming the core of the Fractured Memories update, the Fractured Memories dungeon is far more than just a dungeon. Pulling from all of the game’s content, the dungeon creates a unique experience each time players level 15 and up enter by varying map layouts, enemy variety and placement, difficulty levels, and rewards to ensure that players never run the same dungeon twice. Players won’t just gain experience points and gear from Fractured Memories, they will also gain ability points that can be used to grant account-wide buffs. Points are earned based on how quickly players complete a Fractured Memories dungeon and can be used to unlock and upgrade passive bonuses including reduced cooldowns, increased gold drops, and increased damage when attacking from the back to help them tackle higher difficulty levels. Those with the fastest times can earn a spot on game-wide leaderboards, where the top players receive rewards at the end of each 12 week period before the leaderboards are reset.

Daybreak went all-out in PlanetSide 2 this week with a massive new update, though you probably wouldn’t know it unless you play the game. Let’s change that now: The update is called Critical Mass, and it constitutes “a major revision of the way continents are fought over and conquered” in the form of a continent locking revamp.

“One of the driving motivators of revitalizing the continent locking system is to encourage more strategy and competitive spirit in PlanetSide 2,” Daybreak explains. “Prior to this update, locking a continent was not only confusing for many players, but also happened abruptly, and often times without direct influence from the players fighting on the front lines. The new system intends to create a climactic end-of-continent encounter that challenges players not only as individuals, but as squads, platoons, and outfits. We want players to feel the rush of a hard fought victory, and reward them for partaking in it.”

There’s plenty more to the update, including new armaments, weapon adjustments, refreshed archetype interactions, adjusted vehicle and armor certs, a la carte cosmetics, and bug fixes. Let us know if you’re playing!

Black Desert has just rolled out the first part of its Kamasylvia expansion today – it’s a free update that’s been long-awaited on western shores, bringing a huge new region with plenty of PvE challenges and loot.

“Black Desert Online’s new region, Kamasylvia, features elven woodlands that stretch out to the south of Hexe Sanctuary, from the Valtarra Mountains to the Shady Tree Forest. In terms of the landmass, the new region is about the size of Calpheon and houses an elven village known as the Old Wisdom Tree. There is no level requirement for Kamasylvia, but it is a dangerous place to go alone, so being at high level will be beneficial and group play is recommended. There is also new group-based content such as The Altar of Training that will enthuse players who are looking for some co-op action. The Altar of Training, located deep within Kamasylvia, contains a survival mode which players can unlock once they have completed certain quests in the main storyline. Players will need to work together with their party members to defend a sacred treasure from hordes of enemies that grow stronger with each wave. A total of five waves need to be beaten before the ultimate challenge: a fight with the powerful final boss, Ancient Puturum. If successful, adventurers can gain valuable items and gear.”

Don’t own BDO yet? Maybe wait until tomorrow, when the game will be 40% off. Massively OP’s MJ Guthrie will be streaming BDO for a first look at the update this evening, so check out OPTV at 5 p.m. EDT (and hope the servers hold!). In the meantime, rev up your patchers and check out the brand-new trailer for Arduanatt – that’s the gorgeous pegasus mount being introduced today – while you wait!

The long-awaited Joseph patch has just landed in Albion Online, its first update since its launch this past summer. Albion heard you liked PvP, see, so it’s adding a side of PvP to go with the rest of the game, which is already mostly PvP. Specifically, Joseph adds a new 5v5 PvP arena system.

“We are excited to finally release our first content update, Joseph, post-launch. Now you can enter the Arena, a 5v5 battle with a control point mechanic, at a major city nearest you. Talk to Joan and redeem your winnings for envious rewards, like the Armored Sabertooth mount. Fill your pockets with riches of the dead in a Treasure Site found in each biome. Finally, if you’ve had enough of the same ol’ Tier 6 expeditions, now you can go on two more! See if you can defeat the three age-defying sisters and the relentless Governor.”

There’s more to the patch, of course, including treasure sites, smart casting mechanics, UI updates, new weapon abilities, and a pair of new expeditions. Enjoy the trailer and have fun storming the castle!

EVE Valkyrie’sWarzone overhaul is live today for those with $29.99 rattling around in their space piggybanks, unless you already own the game, in which case the update is freeeeeee. The new headline feature is an Overwatch-esque CTF “Extraction” mode, plus two new maps, wormhole challenges, and the promised lootboxes.

“EVE: Valkyrie – Warzone includes all the content and improvements released for EVE: Valkyrie since launch while dramatically enhancing the experience for new and current players alike. It introduces a next-generation fleet of iconic ships – including the new Covert class ship, ‘Shadow’ – each one with their own distinctive role to play in battle. With new weapons – including powerful Ultra abilities – and a fully redesigned progression system for each ship, players will have more control over how they evolve their arsenal to suit their playstyle.”

CCP believes Valkyrie is the “first fully cross-platform, cross-reality videogame for VR, PC, and PlayStation 4.” VR access, by the way, is no longer a necessity for the game as of today; in fact, VR and non-VR plebes will be pew-pewing each other in perfect harmony.

It’s patch day in SMITE, as I remembered this morning when my husband logged in and saw the new “Belly Ache Ymir” skin. Our header above isn’t even big enough to show you the best part: the chocolate chip cookie codpiece. This game.

Anyhoo, Ymir is just one of the Norse gods getting love in today’s patch 4.18, Odyssey: Journey to Asgard, which also introduces new Norse quests and the Norse Conqueror achievement. As part of its ongoing “Project Olympus” overhaul, Hi-Rez is adding random player loadouts, turning off server rollup, and fixing other annoying parts of spectator mode. Check out the patch notes below, and then… hey, who wants an ice cream cone?

By most accounts, LawBreakers is having a rough go at breaking into the shooter market, with even CliffyB admitting last week that his studio “need[s] the bodies” and that the player numbers are humbling. Part of that may just be the $30 cost barrier to entry, and now that barrier is going away, at least for the weekend: In the tersest Steam post of all time, Nexon has announced a free weekend for the game beginning this Thursday, September 28th, and ending October 2nd.

Most recently, the game patched up to 1.4, which boosted health for all characters, added out-of-combat health regen, group spawning, the new Namsan map, new daily login rewards, and more matchmaking and queueing options.

When Frontier’s servers return to service today, Elite Dangerous will have a shiny new update. Patch 2.4 The Return promises “more mysterious and exciting things,” a plain allusion to the “return” of the Thargoids, the extra-dimensional aliens that have previously served as the game’s “scary dogmatic alien” trope and are now here to… well, I guess you’ll see. If you live that long. Muahahah! Sorry. They’re actually kinda cute.

There’s more to the patch, of course, including new save slots and hairdos in the Holo-Me system, new planetary bases in Colonia, bounties and ship purchasing penalties for murderers, an improved inbox, new missions, updates to the route plotting system, search and rescue contracts, improvements to the galaxy map, and a whole bunch of bug fixes.

Guild Wars 2 officially launches its second B2P expansion, Path of Fire, today. In just two hours in fact. And if our polls are any judge, quite a lot of our audience is hyped for the release!

We’ll be streaming the fun later today (with special guests if we can pull it off), but in the meantime, ArenaNet has a pre-show on Twitch beginning at 10 a.m. EDT this morning, leading up to the noon launch when we all go charging into the desert.

Personally, I’m aiming to finish chapter one and then head straight for drinks on the Lily of the Elon. Who’s with me?

Secret World Legends fans, Funcom’s just pushed a new free update out to you: Tokyo: Beyond the Wall, better known as Tokyo part II. The highlights for core players include the Fear Nothing Foundation content, a new emote UI, and the mission item inventory.

“Today, Funcom has launched Tokyo: Beyond the Wall, moving the story into an even more bizarre and frightening direction. In Secret World Legends, the city of Tokyo has been utterly devastated and large parts of it are under quarantine. In Tokyo: Beyond the Wall players must go even deeper into the apocalyptic city in search of answers. In this second Tokyo update, players will be able to explore vast new areas of the city. From the Kaidan Docks where something strange now creeps out from a derelict freighter, to the neon-bathed ‘Dream Hotel’ in downtown Tokyo which holds unimaginable secrets.”

Part III is still expected to launch “later this year.” The trailer is tucked down below!

Villagers & Heroes’Starfall expansion officially launches today – a week earlier than originally planned. Who does that?! Mad Otter Games, that’s who. Indeed, the studio has declared it the biggest update ever for the cutesy sandpark MMO, and to top it all off? It’s free.

Cross-platform fans need also know that the game has an Android version already playable and an iOS version on the way later this fall, in addition to the existing Windows client and Steam edition. We’ve rounded up all our Starfall coverage, plus the expansion trailer, down below!

After wandering the lands of early access since last December, the Runewaker-developed hack-and-slash Guardians of Ember has now gained enough confidence, experience, and (most importantly) development to officially launch.

Even better, the release of the MMOARPG is being treated to a large patch but not a wipe from beta testing. “This patch will be unlike the others as it seeks to bring quality of life to the citizens of Olyndale. You can expect to see changes to the loot orb system, shared XP in group play, free reskill, Spanish localization and the much-requested nightmare mode,” the team said. New and updated since early access are arena battles, a wave-based Horde Mode, a guild skill system, crafting upgrades, an enhancement system, new mounts and pets, and alterations to the cash shop based on early access feedback, including those free respecs up to level 25.

The basic edition of the game is $20 on Steam, although you can pick up the deluxe edition and the deluxe DLC package for 33% off through September 27th. As we’ve previously covered, the game ran a small ($10,000) Indiegogo campaign for German localization but actually secured $77,000 and put the extra money back into the game with a hardcore mode and launch event.

We’ve got the launch trailer, pics, and a roundup of all our coverage to date for you down below!